Harley Davidson Touring Motorcycles

One of the most important maintenance jobs for any Harley Davidson Touring Motorcycle is the brake pad replacement. Brake pads on your Motorcycle, like those on other vehicles, are designed to help the brakes to stop the bike efficiently and quickly. In order to maintain good safety levels, plan to change out the brake pads on your Touring every 2000 to 3000 miles. The procedure is simple and can be completed at home with only a few basic tools.

Tools and Items Needed

New brake pads
Allen wrench
Screwdriver set
Cleaning spray
Pliers

Preparing Your Motorcycle

It's a good idea to wait a couple of hours after riding until after the motorcycle has cooled down in order to mount up the bike for this project. Failing to do so may mean that the bike will be heated, and you could cause injury to yourself trying to access the brake system at this time. Once the motorcycle is entirely cool, put it up on the mount so that you'll have access to both sides of the bike easily.

Remove the Caliper Bolts

Use the Allen wrench to carefully remove the caliper bolts from the outside of the brake system. Set them aside in a safe place to be replaced and reinstalled on the bike later on. If your motorcycle has a retaining clip setup to hold the calipers in place instead of bolts, turn the clips by hand until they line up so that the ends of the clips stick out. Then use the pliers to remove the clips and set them aside as well.

Remove and Clean the Calipers

Pull out the calipers by hand and examine them for signs of wear or damage. This can include cracks, or any other signs of damage. If you detect any problems, discard the calipers and purchase new ones to replace on your motorcycle. Otherwise, use the cleaning spray to clean the calipers of any dirt or debris that may be on them.

Remove the Brake Pad and Clean the Pistons

Take out the brake pad on either side of the brake system by hand and discard it. Depress the brake pedal until all of the air has been forced out of the pistons and they're fully collapsed. Next, use your cleaning spray to clean up the brake caliper pistons and the spring setup. When you're done, use the screwdrivers to push the pistons back into the brake caliper set.

Replace the Brake Pads and Close Up the System

Replace the brake pads with new pads and then place the calipers back in place. Put the caliper bolts or retaining clips back in place to hold the calipers steady. Use the Allen wrench to tighten up the brake pad calipers once again. Before you remove the bike from the mount, test out the brake pedal to be sure that it will depress properly.

Remove the bike from the mount and test out the brakes by driving it at a very slow speed and in a controlled way.

Although checking your oil level should be a simple matter it is often not when it comes to motorcycles and many questions are raised for example, should the oil be hot or cold, is the oil level checked in the crankcase or in a separate reservoir, should the dipstick be fully screwed in or not, must the bike be on the side stand or level and does the bike have a dipstick or a sight glass? The best way to answer these questions will be to check the manufacturers handbook very carefully as you should find the answers to all these questions there. An under filled crankcase can be disastrous while an overfilled one may flood you air cleaner with oil. you should also be able to find out from the handbook the difference between low level and high level and when the bike is over full.

The following are general points, which cover most motorcycles

The bike should be level as possible; except for some that are checked on the side stand your handbook will advise on this.

The oil should not inspected cold and is therefore best done after warming up the engine for a few mins.

Do not allow any foreign matter or dirt to fall into the sump while inspecting the motorcycle

With threaded dipsticks do not screw the dipstick in when taking a reading

High temperatures, time, speed, heavy traffic, short trips and dust quickly destroy the quality of your oil

Motorcycles can use the same oil as cars although the motorcycle specific oils contain additives for better oil performance in them. Special synthetic motorcycle oils are available for sports bikes that are ridden hard. Note that synthetic oils are not recommended if your bike has a wet clutch (a clutch that runs inside the oil in your crankcase) In most instances a semi-synthetic oil graded as SAE 20 W-50 is usually fine, a lot of people have gone back to the Harley Davidson oil for this, it's been tried and proven for many years.

Tools and Items Needed

New oil
Oil collection pan
Socket wrench
Paper towels
Newspapers
Cardboard
Funnel
Jack stand
New oil filter (optional)

Preparing Your Motorcycle

Begin by mounting the bike up on its kick stand. If you have a separate jack stand that you can use to mount the rear of the bike up so tat you can better access the oil, this is a good idea as well. Place a set of newspapers around on the ground where you'll be working, as the oil can sometimes shoot out and cause a mess. Wait until the engine has cooled down significantly but not until it's completely cool before you continue.

Drain the Old Oil
The first thing you need to do is to drain the old oil from the motorcycle. Unscrew the filler cap by hand. This will cause the oil to settle at the bottom of the oil pan in the motorcycle, which in turn will make it drain more easily. Then place the oil collection pan underneath the oil container so that you'll be able to collect the oil in one place. Unscrew the drain plug by hand, but be cautious and go slowly. The oil will begin to drip into the collection pan. Use a piece of cardboard to channel the oil into the pan. Allow the oil to drain completely over several minutes.

Check and Change the Filter, (Optional)
Remove the oil filter. Use a socket wrench to unscrew it, then allow it to drain into the pan as well. Examine the filter for signs of damage and corrosion. If there are any signs that it is damaged or worn, replace it with a new filter. Otherwise, place the oil filter back onto the motorcycle. There are some filters that will not need to be changed as often as the oil in your bike, but it's good practice to check on them every time you change the oil.

Replace the Oil
Replace the drain plug and make sure that the oil container is secure. Place the funnel in the top of the oil container and then pour in new oil into the container. Be sure to follow the instructions in your Harley Davidson owner's manual to determine exactly how much oil will be necessary for your motorcycle.